


The Memory of An Elephant

by anime_babble



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-24
Updated: 2012-05-24
Packaged: 2017-11-05 22:23:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/411645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anime_babble/pseuds/anime_babble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set during the time skip. Slight Lee/Hanabi crack! Features a pink porcelain elephant!</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Memory of An Elephant

When Hinata offered to throw her a birthday party, Hanabi felt an inexplicable sense of dread drop into her stomach. But she accepted the offer anyway, mostly out of guilt. Her sister rarely spoke up (or out), and Hanabi didn’t want to squash her on this rare occasion. Besides, if she were very honest with herself, she would have to admit that she could have made more of an effort to stand up for her sister all these years. Instead, she had merely watched silently, as Hinata shrunk further and further into herself under their father’s cold glaze. Surely, she could encourage her sister for once.

 

But…a birthday party. For her. There was a fundamental problem with that, and Hanabi was surprised that Hinata had overlooked it. A birthday party implied guests and guests implied friends.

 

Hanabi didn’t have any.

 

Which was mortifying when one dwelled upon it, but also somewhat understandable. She was a main house member, which meant that she trained under her father and had never attended school with the other children in the village. She started off each day in the dojo and training there was only briefly interrupted by theoretical lessons with a private tutor, and a daily walk around the village (strictly chaperoned by her aunt, to “clear her mind”). This was not a schedule conducive to a social life. Every day, she lived and breathed new ninja skills. Even when she slept, her dreams were filled with battles.

 

When Hanabi returned to her room after dinner, where Hinata had made her surprising offer, she inspected her room critically with cold, pale orbs. It was exactly like every other room in the main house, really.  A neat, narrow bed with a dark blue bedspread. A white dressing table against one wall, a bookshelf filled with somber texts directly across. Nothing whatsoever to differentiate this room from any other bedroom in the house.

 

Except that wasn’t exactly true. Hinata’s room was different, stamped with her own personality. She had group photos of her teammates on _her_ dressing table, and books that had nothing to do with training. They were mostly boring books, Hanabi admitted, on bugs and dogs, but at least they were _hers_ , something that existed outside of being Hyuuga. Hinata may have lost favor with the elders, but at the very least, her banishment had gained her friends, given her something that the elders couldn’t dictate, something that was purely hers. Hanabi knew there was a large part of her that envied that.

 

If friends reflected who you were, and you had none, then who was Hyuuga Hanabi?

 

***

Kiba looked down at the golden edged invitation with a mixture of terror and shock. “A Birthday party? For your sister?” The incredulity positively oozed from his voice.

 

Hinata shrank back a little at the tone. “I-I-I-it’s all right if you both don’t want to come…” her voice trailed off as uncertainly as she looked back and forth between Kiba and Shino. Shino was always quiet, but it had seemed as if he were even more so than usual, after she’d given them both their invitations.

 

“Uh…I didn’t say that,” stammered Kiba, “We’ll be happy to go, right Shino? Free food and all, right? Me and Akamaru, we’ll be there tails wagging!”

Shino nodded curtly in agreement. “We’ll be pleased to attend, Hinata. After all, it is for your sister.”

 

Hinata looked relieved. “The party starts at two…and don’t worry about the present. I’m sure Hanabi will like whatever you pick.” With that, she left the two boys, whose mouths had dropped open in shock.

 

“Presents!!?? Shino, what the hell are we going to get her!!!?”

 

***

 

After receiving her invitation, Ino lost no time in rounding up Shikamaru, Chouji and Sakura, claiming that they were sure to be able to buy something worthy of a Hyuuga if they combined resources – brains and money, both. It was only after she’d gotten an eager Sakura and her reluctant teammates (“shopping is so troublesome”) to Konoha’s main street that, for the first time, she was stumped for shopping ideas.

 

Her. Stumped. Shopping. Three words that should never go in the same sentence.

 

Ino and Sakura tried desperately to bounce ideas off each other.

 

“Hair accessories?” Both of them tried to imagine ribbons and bows in Hanabi’s hair and failed miserably.

 

“Make-up?”

 

“Isn’t she a little young for that?”

 

“Hmm…no one’s too young to start…”

 

“I don’t think she’d like it. Her father certainly wouldn’t.”

 

“Clothes?”

 

“Do you have any idea what she likes? I don’t even know her favorite _color_.”

 

“Well then, let’s see you come up with something, Miss-Big-Forehead-Know-It-All!”

 

“Uh…Jewelry?”

 

“We’d only be able to afford costume. And she’s _Hyuuga_. She probably has cartloads of the real stuff.”

 

“Isn’t it time for lunch yet? I’m hungry.”

 

“We’re not eating till we find something, so you might as well help us, Chouji!”

 

“Feh. I thought you said girls were _so_ easy to shop for? If I’d known it was going to be this troublesome, I wouldn’t have agreed to come.”

 

“Oh yeah, Mr. Genius? Let’s see you come up with something!”

 

“………..”

 

“I thought so. Come on, Sakura, let’s try that store.”

 

***

Elsewhere in Konoha, walking with his team to meet Gai-sensei for practice, Lee was ecstatic. And driving Neji insane.

 

“…and your cousin, you know—Hinata, Neji! She just walked right up to me and gave me an invitation to Hanabi-san’s birthday!! This is so exciting! I’ve never been to the Hyuuga grounds before! Say, Neji, why have you never invited me there, huh? Didn’t want me to defeat you on your own turf, isn’t that right?” Lee was positively _beaming_.

 

Neji grunted. It didn’t matter what you said to Lee in these hyper moods of his. You just hoped he wouldn’t do anything too terrible before you were forced to beat down his enthusiasm. Usually literally.

 

“You are going, right?” said Tenten cautiously. The politics of the Hyuuga family were complex enough to make her dizzy, but she rather thought things were getting better between Neji and his uncle. For one thing, Neji actually talked about him now. Of course, it was only in the context of his new private lessons, but it was a start.

 

The Hyuuga genius gave her a one shouldered shrug. “I suppose so. You’re coming too, right?”

 

Tenten gave him a smile, white-teeth flashing. “Yup. It’ll be a nice way to spend an afternoon—” She’d been so absorbed in conversation, that she’d failed to notice Lee had gone stalk-still before them. “Hey!” she yelped.

 

Lee ignored her cry as he turned to face them both, face ashen. “Tenten,” he said, tone suddenly dead-serious. “What am I going to buy for a present? I’ve never bought anything for a girl’s birthday before!”

 

“You got Tenten tarot cards for her birthday” said Neji, a little gruffly.

 

“That’s _different_. Tenten’s my teammate!” Lee’s eyes grew wider if it was possible. “What if I can’t think of _anything_??!!”

 

“Well, she’s a ninja, right? You could always get her weapons or something like that. It’s not that important.” Neji said, face and tone now relaxed.

 

Lee looked shocked. “Neji! You can’t be so callous about this! It’s the girl’s _birthday_ ; a time for the celebration of youth and determination. A girl needs a gift to demonstrate her individuality and uniqueness!”

 

Tenten looked amused by the whole exchange. “ _I_ like kunai. I wouldn’t mind getting weaponry for my birthday…”

 

At that, Neji looked a bit more thoughtful than usual, but Lee was shaking his head. “I will find the perfect gift to give her, or else I will run 50 laps around the village as punishment! This is a man’s responsibility!”

 

Neji scoffed, “You’re wasting your time. She’s a Hyuuga and a ninja. She’d _like_ weaponry. It’s a perfectly safe and acceptable gift to give a girl on her birthday.”

 

But Lee had run off already.

 

“Now what,” said Tenten, shaking her head, “are we going to tell Gai-sensei?”

 

***

By chance it happened that on the same day, hawk-eyed Aunt Midori, who was the one that chaperoned Hanabi on her daily village walk, came down rather badly with the flu. As no one else could be spared from their tasks, Hanabi was told by her hacking aunt to do the regimented walk by herself, before Midori drifted off into a deep sleep. Feeling a spark of rebellion at having every moment of her life planned out for her, Hanabi weighed the odds of anyone seeing her—the Hyuuga eyes were far-reaching, after all—and decided to risk wandering off into the busier sections of the village.

 

Walking precisely, with the trained cool elegance of her family, she made her way down main street. Around her, children her age were laughing and joking in groups—school had probably just let out. She walked on, silently and alone, pale eyes and face revealing nothing.

 

The group walking towards her included a very young child. When he saw her, he pointed rather rudely. “Hey, One-chan! She’s got weird eyes!” Quick as a flash, the boy’s sister grabbed his hand back. “That’s a Hyuuga! You don’t want to make them mad!” She turned to face Hanabi. “Sorry, he’s just young, Hyuuga-san” she said rather nervously.

 

“My name is Hanabi.”

 

“Um…ok, Hyuuga-san. Look, you won’t turn your Eye on him, will you? He doesn’t know better…” The girl fled with her friends, dragging her brother along.

 

Hanabi looked away from them slowly, blinking a little—at the sunlight of course, she wasn’t _crying_ , of course she wasn’t doing that—and caught a sign on a storefront.

 

Grand Opening, it said. ‘Gifts and Stationary’ was proclaimed overhead.

 

Well, she’d taken some pocket money with her, right? She was jolly well going to go in there and buy something frivolous for herself, with nothing to do with training or her family whatsoever, never mind what Father would say. Letting her hurt turn into anger, she marched herself into the store.

 

The store inside was packed, mostly with girls, all giggling and whispering to each other. A shop keeper materialized behind her. “Looking for anything in particular?” she asked with a pasted smile.

 

Hanabi shook her head. “I’ll just look around first, thank you.” She stepped through the aisles, picking up things at random, but always putting them down again.

 

A pencil. A notebook. A small ruler. A picture frame. A stuffed teddy on the end of a key chain. A photo album with pages all already for pictures to put in. ‘Friends Forever’ said the cover.

 

You don’t have friends, Hanabi, remember?

 

The store keeper returned, a little irritated now. “What would you like, miss?”

 

 _What_ do _I like?_ A laugh, like a hiccupped sob. _I’m so void, I don’t even know what I like. Who_ is _Hanabi? I’m not just Hyuuga-san…I’m not! I’m Hanabi, Hanabi, someone, please! Find me…_

Hanabi turned away and ran home.

***

 

On the day of her party, the skies were gray, as if threatening to pour. A perfect match to the way Hanabi felt, as she greeted her guests politely as they entered the Hyuuga’s main dining room; the largest room in the house, painstakingly transformed with streamers and balloons by Hinata for the occasion.

 

Hinata had given her present to Hanabi this morning; a dark silk yukata that accented the family’s dark hair and pale eyes. She had chosen to wear it to the party.

 

Her sister had told her beforehand that she would handle the guest list herself, so Hanabi had been curious as to whom Hinata would invite. Somehow her sister had managed to convince their father and the elders to stay away for the afternoon, as there would be a formal dinner in the evening. Some of the younger Hyuugas were here. And, as it turned out, all of Hinata’s friends.

 

Her relatives greeted her formally, giving her their best wishes and asking her about her training. Her sister’s friends gave their greetings somewhat awkwardly, as if unsure of how to speak to her. Hanabi spent the afternoon surrounded by people, highlighting how very alone she really was.

 

Finally the hours of stilted conversation came to an end, it was time to cut the cake and open presents. Hanabi sliced the cake herself, neatly and perfectly, and handed them out to the guests. There was a slight scuffle as Chouji and Kiba fought for the first piece, but Ino smacked them both and it was quickly resolved.

 

Then came the presents.

 

Kunai. Shuriken. Ninja Scrolls. All beautiful and deadly and befitting a girl from the house of Hyuuga. Hanabi thanked each and every giver with a smile. No one noticed that her smiles stayed only on her lips.

 

The last present she opened was from Rock Lee, a boy she vaguely remembered from cousin Neji’s team. Unlike the other gifts, which had been discreetly wrapped boxes in pale pastel shades, this one was oddly shaped and wrapped in screaming bright pink with an even pinker bow tied around it. The present, like the giver, definitely wanted to be noticed. The crowd leaned in even closer, piqued, as she untied the bow to reveal the gift.

 

A pink porcelain elephant fell down into her palms. It was really the ugliest thing Hanabi had ever seen.

 

Tenten broke the shocked silence that had descended on the room. “Lee!” she whispered frantically, tugging on his sleeve, “Why on earth…I thought Neji told you to get her kunai or something!”

 

Most people might have been embarrassed by the situation. But not Lee. “Tenten,” he said, as if explaining to a keen, but slow-witted child, “for the last time, weaponry is not an appropriate gift for a girl on her birthday. And I really wanted to find something that was perfect for Hanabi-san.”

 

“ _This_ is perfect for Hanabi-san?” Neji raised an eyebrow, while Hinata watched everything nervously.

 

“Yup! See, after our little talk, I went downtown to look at the shops…and what do you know? I saw Hanabi walking around! So, uh…I sort of followed her….” Lee blushed at his confession. “Uh, sorry about that Hanabi-san, you walk very elegantly, by the way…”

 

Hanabi’s cheeks flared, both at the fact that she’d been so easily trailed and at the carelessly given compliment.

 

Lee cleared his throat and resumed. “So, she went into ‘Gifts and Stationary’ and I followed her in, observed her carefully, and that’s when I knew this would be perfect!”

 

“Mind explaining for the rest of us?” asked Ino in a strangled voice, as if trying hard not to laugh. Tenten mouthed “don’t encourage him” behind Lee’s back. But it was too late.

 

“Well, you see, Hanabi was interested in everything, and at first, I was really confused, but then it hit me! Everything she’d picked up was pink! That’s your favorite color, isn’t it, Hanabi-san? So then I just asked the helpful shop lady to get me the pinkest thing she had in stock, and ta-da! I really hope you like it, Hanabi-san.” Lee looked at her, all seriousness now. She’d been staring down at the elephant for several minutes. She liked it, right?

 

_I have a favorite color. It’s pink._

_I like pink._

 

She looked up from the gift in her hands, felt the cool, smooth surface between her fingers, and smiled. “Thank you, Lee-kun.”

 

This one reached her eyes.

 

***

 

The next morning, the maid who came in to clean Hanabi’s room was mildly surprised to see a bright pink, gaudy porcelain elephant carefully arranged on her dressing table.

 

[End]

 

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Notes: Extensive as usual. Feel free to skip.
> 
>  
> 
> Hanabi shows up twice in the series. Once, in a flashback, where we learn that she displays more potential than her sister, and is favored by their father and for a second time during the Naruto/Neji battle, where her father tells her to watch Neji carefully. She expresses surprise that Neji is a better fighter than her sister.
> 
>  
> 
> And that’s it for canonical appearances. (Told you it was a crack!pairing XD) So I had to make up Hanabi’s character based on these two appearances and some musings and this is what I came up with.
> 
>  
> 
> She seems to be trained primary by her father, and is not wearing a forehead protector when we see her in the series. I think that, as a main house member, she’s probably trained by her own family and thus, does not attend ninja academy like the rest of the children (Hinata was essentially banished, I don’t think it’s a regular occurrence that the main house members become leaf nin). Such a life has to be a little oppressive and lonely. Also, based on her surprise that Neji fights better than Hinata, she’s got to somewhat respect her sister as well. So she turned out like this in the fic, a little proud but mostly unsure of who she really is……hopefully she doesn’t come across as a Mary-Sue.
> 
>  
> 
> This fic wasn’t really a Lee/Hanabi story…more of a self-discovery story for Hanabi (or at least the beginning of self-discovery). But really, I can only imagine Lee being the one to make the effort to get to know Hanabi like this…


End file.
